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Lightning struck a SECO light pole in front of our house some time ago. The bolt ran through the pole and then through the ground to our Sylvester palm tree in the front yard. The tree died within a few weeks, and it cost us over a thousand dollars to have it removed and replaced. Insurance covered about $500. The strike also took out our thermostat and computer printer. This was not a direct hit on our house. Lightning strikes can travel through the ground apparently.
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Did these protected home have any induced damage from the EMP? You probably have better data. But assuming 70,000 homes in the Villages, and 7 home strikes a year, risk is in the 1/10,000 range? Appreciate the knowledge you are sharing. |
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When a home is hit here in the Villages and it's a spectactular event, many homeowners see getting hit by lightning may be more of a reality here in the Villages and start getting estimates for a system. Unfortunately, there are many private individuals who are not UL certrified and trained by the Lightning Protection Institue to install these systems and do it incorrectly. They usually go door-to-door in these Villages soliciting work after a major strike. If you had a lightning protection system installed by A1 Lightning Protection or Triangle Lightning Protection Systems, both UL Certified and trained and have a long positive history of installing these systems here in the Villages, both residential and commercial, then we would like to know about it and that would be a topic of discussion to see what actually happened. Unfortunately this industry is not regulated so you need to make sure whomever you hire is UL Certified and trained. A1 and Triangle have done work here in the Villages for many years and both participate in many activities and presentation in the Villages. |
Many people talking about lightning strikes saying the odds are low, it won't happen to me, it won't be that bad, my home insurance will cover it, an LPS is expensive and won't prevent a strike anyway, etc.
Here's another way to think about it. I have paid tens of thousands of dollars for homeowners insurance over the years and made only one claim. It was about 30 years ago and it was for damage from a lightning strike. I have paid tens of thousands of dollars for car insurance over the years and can remember only two claims and one of those was for a broken windshield. I have paid tens of thousands of dollars for health insurance over the years and other than regular doctor and dentist visits I have used very little of that. A one-time $3,000 investment for an LPS to minimize the chance of being displaced by significant lightning damage seems like a much better deal than any of the other insurances I buy. (DISCLAIMER: I do not actually have an LPS - I need to do something about that) |
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Effect != Effect size If you have references to empirical evidence about the _effect size_ (i.e., magnitude of the effect) of LPS on structures in any quality scientific journal, please provide the references (i.e., name of journal, volume, issue, author, date) and I will read them. (A book is not a quality scientific journal.) I don’t doubt there is an effect of LPS. I have a LPS. I would like to know the empirical evidence of the effect size of LPS on homes. I am skeptical strong evidence of the effect size exists. |
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Mr. Bill.....................you seem to arguing with yourself. :thumbup: |
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Since lightning is unpredictible and you would have to have some system installed to monitor when a home with a LPS was actually hit, my "guess" is there is little data on this. The current "thinking" is that a LPS will limit or prevent significant damage to the structure if a lightnig strike occurs vs preventing a strike. As mentioned there are studies underway on systems to "prevent" lightning strikes as well. Len Hathaway, the founder and leader of the Villages Lightning Study Group has a device installed on his LPS that will trigger when lightning strikes his system. No hits recorded yet. Unfortunately this device is expensive. Also, when a home with an LPS is hit, a thorough investigation would be needed to make sure the LPS was installed and maintained properly to weed out any faulty installations. As part of the maintenance, you need to check the validity of the grounding system on the LPS. I have a meter to check this. Typically, an LPS ground rod is driven 10-20 feet into the earth to get a good ground meaning a ohm rating low enough as specified by UL. In my home, Triangle had to drive the ground rods down 30 feet to get a ground that was in tolerance with the UL specification. Fortunately, the certified installers will do what is needed to get a good ground or the system will be ineffictive. We do have a case where a ground rod lost it's effectiveness for some unknown reason and had to be replaced. Fortunately, three to four ground rods are typically installed and every air terminal (lightning rod) has two paths to ground. |
Looking for more information please
When and where will the next presentation be, and is the paper or detail finding of the study available for reading, or is this based off the 2021 study and related paper presented by Univ. of Central Florida
Thank you Ken |
Is there a contractor that is recommended for lightning rods installation?
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thanks
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Lightening Rods
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I purchased lightening rods, had SECO put on a surge protector and added surge protector strips to my TVs and computer. I went to the POA meeting on lightening and followed their advice. They recommended three companies. I went with A1. The lightening rods were $1600. The costs depends on your roof, added extensions and if you have gas. My friend had a gas pipe on her roof and that required an additional rod. Her cost was $2400. It is well worth the cost. I live in Charlotte, a few blocks away from the house that was hit. The lightening that night was the worst I’ve ever experienced here. My heart goes out to these people. Try to look up the POA meeting from last year or find the bulletin. Don’t believe rumors like if your neighbors house has rods, you’re protected. Get expert advice. I felt safe knowing my house was protected. That protection was worth every penny. |
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The presentation starts at 30:00. |
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Triangle Lightening Protection Both UL Certified and LPI trained. Just FYI, both companies will do the same quality work. A1 will come out to your home for an estimate, Triangle will do it over the phone by looking at your home using google maps or some similar system. Both companies have a long track record doing installations here in the Villages and both highly recommended because of their certifications, training and service to the community. For primary surge protection, you can call Lenhart Electric and if you attended or viewed the presentation on lightning protection or found them here on ToTV, let them know and they will give you a discount. I'm not sure how much longer they will be offering the discount. Hope this helps. |
The house I bought was hit by lightning at some point while it was sitting on the market. It fried the control board in the furnace/AC unit.
I had the whole home surge protection installed when I moved in but I realized this is no guarantee of protection. When there is a storm coming, I unplugged my expensive things such as washer, dryer, and the two power strip that has all my electronics on it (entertainment center and computer desk). If it's really bad lightning, I will flip the switch on my furnace. Unfortunately, that still leaves my refrigerator, dishwasher, microwave, and stove plugged in. I'm not even sure that flipping the light switch for my furnace will completely prevent it. Can it arc across an open switch? Someday may have a system installed so this is very good information being posted. |
Anybody hear the BIG boom lightning strike last night about 11 or so. It was close to me flash and bang was almost simultaneously. Looked on strike map had hit on CR42 in from of Phillips entry.
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As mentioned earlier The Villages installs LPS on critical infrastructure such as schools, hospitals, key buildings in the squares, fire stations, pump stations, etc. We all know they don't spend a dollar unnecessarily. ;-) |
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An experienced installer is important along with one who has passed the UL certification training/exams. Some do a better job of hiding view of the cables from the street. ... |
Lightening Strike A Few Days Ago
We had a LPS installed on our roof several years ago. It was probably one of the best things we ever did! Living here in the “Lightening Capital of America” it was just an added insurance for our peace of mind.
A few days ago, during the horrible lightening storm, I was cowering at home from the lightening and the non-stop thunder storming. It was truly frightening. I went to window several times (which I probably shouldn’t have) to see the action. The last time I looked, I saw a huge bolt of lightening followed immediately by a loud boom and a tinkling sound. I stepped away from the window and ran around the house to see which window broke. It happened to be a neighbor’s house across the street with a fire on their roof. Thank God that the fire trucks were there quickly and efficiently putting out the fire tho not without damage to the roof and windows. Thank God everyone was safe! Long story short, I thank God we installed our lightening rods or else it could’ve been us (it was that close!). |
A villa home was destroyed last night by a fire caused from lightning.
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As far as how many strikes per year in the Villages, Len has the latest data from the fire department and i'll ask him to post it. Its actually more than you would think because some strikes are mis-coded by the fire department and are listed as some other cause even though there were eye witnesses and other indications that the cause was lightning. Also with all the new building going on in the Villages, there are more habitable targets to hit where as before a strike might have been in an open field. |
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Just wanted to say that this thread has a lot of good discussion and I hope we helped those who wanted to know more about lightning and power surge protection regardless whether they are planning on getting a system or not.
What's important to the Villages Lightning Study Group is that everyon have the facts so they can make an informed decision based on their individual tolerance for risk and based on their specific situation vs someone with no experience saying these systems don't work. Although our fire and police and other first responders are critical to our safety and great people, they are not all trained in some of these topics. Becasue of this the study group has given presentations to some of our first responders but not everyone is trained so if you have questions please reach out to us and we can provide whatever factual and actual case information that we have collected specifically here in the Villages on the topic. |
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[QUOTE=MidWestIA;2344117]My friend had a lightning rod it got hit and started a fire in the attic[/ youQUOTE]
Could provide more details. Where and when did this happen? Was there a failure of the gas line in the attic caused by a direct or indirect lightning strike?. Was the gas line grounded at the manifold and at the entry point into the home? Was the system installed by a UL listed firm that employs Master Installers who have passed the requirements of the Lightning Protection Institute? Was the system maintained as called for in NFPA-780 the national standard on lightning? Was any qualified expert called in to investigate the failure? |
Lightning strikes
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Good idea to help educate first responders. (At an incident near us, a fire fighter was quoted to say lighting rods don't work.) |
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FYI/If I understand correctly, the manufacturer of CCST is recommending consideration LPS in lightening prone areas?
Depending upon conditions specific to the location of the structure in which the Gastite system is being installed, including but not limited to whether the area is prone to lightning, the owner of the structure should consider whether a lightning protection system is necessary or appropriate. Maybe The Villages should consider offering/including a LPS for homes with gas lines in the attic as recommended by the gas line manufacturer. ... |
What a great thread! Thank you, to all the posters; I learned so much & will investigate surge protectors & system.
(Currently, I just unplug appliances & computers.) Y’all did an awesome job - I Appreciate the lesson. |
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I was addressing situations where the home has major damage like the one recently in Charlotte or if the home burns down to the ground. Construction of that magnitude takes time to settle with your insurance company and you need to engage many construction trades to repair your home. As mentioned, speaking first hand to some people here in the Villages who have had significant damage, it can take up to a year to repair everything and get back into the home. |
In the Villages News this morning:
>>> Firefighters from The Villages Public Safety Department stopped the spread of a blaze to other units after a lightning strike at a courtyard villa. Units from the fire department were called at 11:47 p.m. Monday to the home at 1336 La Jolla Circle in the Rio Grande Villas near the Rio Grande Family Pool. It is the second major fire ignited by lightning within a week in The Villages. The other fire was in the Village of Charlotte. <<< google "1336 La Jolla Circle in the Rio Grande Villas" to see the pictures and the article. |
I was curious about these CMCE lightning 'suppression' gadgets so I looked around and found this lengthy video about them. They seem to be in use and accepted. I understand the idea of neutralizing the charge - at least in the immediate area of the device, but they claim coverage up to 100 meters. Does it seem feasible that it can suck in ions from such an area? See what you think...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRqY_QZaFGQ |
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